Chen Ling thought for a moment and still followed them.
As the Law Enforcer in charge of Frost Street, Chen Ling needed to keep track of the street's population. Even natural deaths needed to be recorded, let alone if some vicious incident had occurred...
Furthermore, he also wanted to know exactly which person on Frost Street had died to attract such a large formation.
Under the dim sky, Chen Ling trailed at the very back of the crowd, following them to a Wilderness on the back mountain. Along the way, people were whispering, saying things like "better to send him further away" and "don't come back again." Hearing this made Chen Ling increasingly bewildered.
Under Boss Xu's direction, several residents with good physical strength began to shovel dirt. Before long, they cleared a space large enough to accommodate a Coffin, and slowly lowered the Coffin into it.
"Alright, cover it with dirt, burn some paper money... and we're done."
Boss Xu threw the bag containing the two bags of hearts into it as well, and the others immediately began to bury it with dirt.
Seeing that large red Coffin disappear under the soil, the crowd let out a slight sigh of relief, and the sound of their whispering grew a bit louder.
"With this, it should be completely over..."
"After we go back, let's go to the neighboring street and get a stele to set up for him. Just this dirt mound looks weirdly creepy... Always feel like he can still come back out."
"He couldn't, could he really turn into a ghost?"
"..."
Boss Li and the others also crouched down. Not knowing where they pulled a Brazier from, they lit the paper money and tossed it in. A gust of cold wind swept across the Wilderness, scattering another bag of paper money by his hand all around.
In the dimness, a figure proactively stepped forward, bending down to pick them up for him piece by piece.
"Many thanks." Boss Li couldn't see his face clearly and simply thanked him.
"No need to thank me."
Boss Li froze. He suddenly felt this voice was a bit familiar.
That person clutched the paper money, walked to the Brazier that had just been lit, and fed them in piece by piece. As the firelight gradually grew vigorous, that person's face was gradually outlined in the shadows.
"By the way, Boss Li, who are you guys burying?" The firelight illuminated a small half of Chen Ling's face as he slowly raised his head.
Boss Li was instantly stunned.
He blinked forcefully, as if he had seen a ghost!
"Old Li, you're burning this paper money way too slowly, we're already done here." Boss Xu walked up behind Chen Ling, who was squatting on the ground with his back to him, and couldn't help but speak.
"Hurry up and finish burning, everyone should go back to rest."
"You... y-you... him... h-him!!" Boss Li's face was ghastly pale, one finger pointing at Chen Ling, unable to utter a complete sentence for a long time.
"Him what?"
Boss Xu looked down in confusion, just as Chen Ling raised his head to look at him. The firelight illuminated half of his face from the chin, pale and eerie.
"Boss Xu." Chen Ling suddenly remembered something. "Where are the Peaches I asked for?"
【Audience Expectation Value +3】
【Audience Expectation Value +3】
【Audience Expectation Value...】
Boss Xu's eyes suddenly widened. He stared fixedly at Chen Ling's face, and after a long moment, his eyes rolled back and he fainted on the spot.
"Boss Xu?"
"Hey, what happened to Boss Xu?"
Seeing this, the others immediately gathered around, not knowing what had happened. Right at this moment, a figure stepped forward and helped him up.
"What's wrong with him?" Chen Ling frowned slightly.
The midnight wind blew across the Wilderness, blowing up the paper money in front of Boss Li and scattering it around Chen Ling...
The next moment, everyone's breathing stopped... They stood in place like sculptures. After a few seconds, they turned around in terror and dashed wildly down the mountain!!
Watching the crowd flee from him as if they had seen a ghost, Chen Ling's eyes were full of incomprehension.
"A-Ling?" A voice came from the side.
"Uncle Zhao." Chen Ling looked at Uncle Zhao, the only one who hadn't run, and couldn't help asking. "What's going on here?"
Uncle Zhao looked at him with complex emotions. After a long time, he let out a long sigh...
...
Half an hour later.
Under the night sky, the door of Zhao's Breakfast Shop was pushed open.
Uncle Zhao lit the Kerosene Lamp, heated up a bowl of soy milk from the back kitchen, and handed it to the table for Chen Ling.
"A monster that loves eating human hearts?" After hearing Uncle Zhao's description, a hint of astonishment flashed across Chen Ling's face. "I didn't..."
"They said they all saw it. That day on the street, you pulled out hearts from the bag and gave them out one by one... They were all terrified." Uncle Zhao looked at him with complex emotions.
"A-Ling ah... I actually heard about the matters regarding your parents and A-Yan. I can understand your current state of mind... But some demonic and crooked paths, you absolutely cannot walk down."
The scene of himself being surrounded by the various bosses on the street that day instantly surfaced in Chen Ling's mind. But what he gave out were clearly Peaches...
Wait.
Chen Ling suddenly thought of the scene where every time he gave out a Peach, the Audience Expectation Value would increase. His expression turned a bit ugly.
He seemed to understand what all this was about...
No wonder that person fell at his own doorstep that day and, in turn, kowtowed three loud times to him. It turned out they thought he was a perverted psychopathic killer.
"After you finished giving out the Peaches, you went to the Ancient Vault of the Military Path... During this time, the rumors about you became more and more wicked. Some said you are the reincarnation of a monster, some said you have psychological problems. Even outside Frost Street, people have heard about your matters."
"...It's all a misunderstanding." Chen Ling held it in for a long time before he could squeeze out this sentence.
"I also think it's probably a misunderstanding."
Uncle Zhao fetched a few more tea eggs for him, chattering endlessly, "But you have to pay attention. These rumors will affect your image... If this continues, everyone won't dare to approach you anymore."
Chen Ling had been running around all the way and hadn't had a few full meals at all. At this moment, he peeled a few tea eggs and stuffed them into his mouth, gulping down the soy milk on the table.
"I'll find a time... to explain to them."
After Chen Ling finished eating, he answered helplessly.
For things to develop to this point was simply not what he wanted... But that bunch of trolls in the audience seats had way too vile tastes. He simply didn't know to what extent his image had been tampered with while he was completely unaware.
Just as the two were talking, a weary figure walked across the street and pushed the door to enter.
"Chen Ling?"
When Zhao Yi saw Chen Ling at his home, he was first stunned, then spoke unpleasantly, "Why did you run to my house to eat in the middle of the night?"
Zhao Yi was a reckless person after all. Even though Chen Ling had become a Law Enforcer now, he didn't have the slightest intention of being humble. He remained as domineering as when he was a child, finding Chen Ling an eyesore no matter how he looked at him.
The most crucial point was, regarding the matter of his old man misunderstanding that he liked men previously, Zhao Yi pondered over it for a long time and still felt something was amiss. He guessed that it was probably this kid Chen Ling playing dirty tricks in secret... Unfortunately, he had no proof.
Seeing Chen Ling at this moment, naturally he wouldn't show a good face.